The State Duma called the IOC’s decision to exclude Russia from the 2018 Olympics “unfounded”
The State Duma of the Russian Federation unanimously adopted a statement today in which it called the decision of the executive committee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to exclude Russia from the 2018 Olympics “unfounded,” a PolitNavigator correspondent reports.
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“The decision of the IOC Executive Committee violates the rights of Russian athletes, and also does not reflect the real state of affairs in the field of combating the use of doping. This can be interpreted as a form of discrimination. Moral support when an athlete performs under the national flag, and moral support when the national flag is raised and the national anthem is played, puts athletes from other countries in an unequal position with ours,” said the chairman of the State Duma Committee on Physical Culture, Sports, Tourism and Youth Affairs Mikhail Degtyarev.
The State Duma statement said that the IOC’s decision harms sport as “a matter of strengthening cooperation and bringing the peoples of the world closer together.” Deputies called on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) to restore the accreditation of the all-Russian anti-doping organization.
The deputies note that the efforts made in Russia have made it possible to create an effective system to combat the use of doping in Russian sports. In order to counter its use, legislation will continue to be improved, the Duma assured.
The State Duma called the IOC's decision to disqualify Russia from the 2018 Olympics "unfounded."